Work to repair traffic lights that broke down in September will take seven weeks to complete because the entire system needs to be replaced, a council has said.

Signals at the Civic Center junctions with Portland Terrace, Civic Center Hill and Havelock Road in Southampton stopped working on September 13.

Southampton City Council previously said it could not simply repair the lights because some parts were damaged. “it is no longer manufactured.”

The works, which will begin on Monday, will require the implementation of a number of restrictions, including temporary traffic signs.

Balfour Beatty, who works with the council to manage Southampton’s roads, said traffic officers would be on site during peak times to help traffic flow.

A series of closures and detours will be implemented:

• The two center lanes of Havelock Road, between Western Esplanade and Portland Terrace/Civic Center Road, will be closed.
• This means there will be no direct access between Ring Road and Portland Terrace, and vice versa. There will be a detour route using Western Esplanade and Civic Center Road.
• Those approaching the intersection from the west will be able to turn left and follow Civic Center Road, but there will be no access to Portland Terrace.
• Those approaching from the east will be able to turn left and continue straight onto the Western Esplanade, but vehicles will not be able to access the Ring Road via Havelock Road.
• Those traveling from the south will not be able to continue along Havelock Road to access Ring Road, and those traveling from the north will not be able to access Portland Terrace.

“A non-repairable fault has caused the traffic lights to fail and so to fix this we need to replace the entire part of the system,” said Southampton City Council leader Lorna Fielker.

“It is an absolutely huge job, because the underground cables serving the crossing need to be evacuated and replaced, as well as installing new signal lights.”

He said the work will be done “as quickly as possible.”